Since his return from appendix surgery that kept him out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sainz has done better than Leclerc in qualifying for both the Australian and Japanese races. He even won the Melbourne race from second on the starting grid.
Leclerc has finished behind Sainz in both races, coming in second at the Australian Grand Prix and ending up fourth at Suzuka, behind Sainz who finished on the podium.
When asked if Sainz adapted to Ferrari’s 2024 car faster in the first few races, Leclerc said it was simply because Sainz performed better in the last two races.
“I think it’s as simple as he’s doing a better job. I think in Bahrain, it’s difficult to compare because on my side I was facing issues and I think it was a very strong weekend apart from that,” Leclerc explained.
“However, in the last two races, he’s just been stronger. It’s up to me now to work, especially in the qualifying pace, which is normally a strength.
“I’ve been struggling to put the lap together; it’s a very fine line to get it right or completely wrong on the out lap and putting the tyres in the right window.
“For now, I have been struggling more than what Carlos has done and he’s driving at a very high level. I have been working a lot on that. And normally when I work on points, I’m quite confident on improving pretty quickly.
“I’m not worried, but obviously now I need to show that on track – starting from tomorrow in qualifying.”
Looking forward to the weekend and the challenges of the Shanghai circuit, Leclerc anticipated Ferrari being closer to Red Bull than they were in Suzuka. The track in Japan suited Red Bull’s car better.
The potential for tire wear and more slower corners seem to fit Ferrari’s car better, and Leclerc says they are focused on that, especially with the format of a sprint weekend.
“On paper, I think it’s a track where we could be a bit stronger compared to Suzuka, but we’ll just approach it the same way; I still think that Red Bull will have the upper hand this weekend,” the Monegasque added.
“We’ll just have to focus on ourselves because it can be very easy [to make mistakes] as we’ve seen especially in qualifying in Suzuka – I didn’t do a good job the Saturday and then you don’t go from fourth to fifth, but you go from fourth to eighth.
“I think in the race we will be [closer]. But let’s see, it’s been a very long time since we last drove here. I saw the track was painted, or there was something strange on it, so also this we will have to see how our car behaves on that, and what are the main limitations in the race.
“But on paper, I think we shall be closer to them.”
